Deutero Q

Over the course of my ministry, I have heard many people emphasize God’s love and compassion while saying little or nothing about His holiness and wrath against sin. In fact, it was quite a revelation to me years ago to learn that Scripture speaks of God’s love and hate in reference to people.

Earlier in my Christian journey I embraced the popular belief that God hates sin but loves the sinner. It seemed incongruous to me that God could both love and hate people.

As my sentimental theology came up against biblical theology, I realized that I needed to conform my beliefs to the Bible, and not vice versa. After all, Ps. 5:5 says, “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.” Notice that the psalmist did not describe God as hating sin, but as hating the sinner. (Indeed, from the Bible’s point of view, one cannot separate sin from the sinner.)

Likewise, Ps. 11:5 declares, “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.” As unsettling as the thought may be, notice again that God hates particular people. Furthermore, Prov. 6:16-19 describes God’s hatred of sin and sinner. According to Scripture, all people are by nature objects of God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3) apart from God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ.

We are told that God loved Jacob, but hated Esau (Rom. 9:13). And what about the Egyptian soldiers who pursued Moses and the Israelites across the Red Sea? “The horse and its rider [God] has hurled into the sea,” Scripture says (Exod. 15:1). Elsewhere, the Bible speaks of God destroying the enemies of His people (Ps. 135).

All that is to say we must consider and take seriously the whole counsel of God. Let us remember that God is love. But let us also keep in mind that holiness—and not mere sentimentality—characterizes God’s love. In the words of New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall, “We do wrong to exalt the love of God as his supreme feature just because it is more congenial to our thinking.”

This is exactly what many people do; they exalt love as God’s most important quality, while saying comparatively little about His holiness or biblical passages that speak of His hatred. It is important to remember that God’s love and holiness (including His holy hatred) are a both/and not an either/or proposition, as theologian Donald Bloesch points out:

"The love of God is generous, sacrificial, self-giving. It is the love that issues in forgiveness, but it is a costly forgiveness resulting in the death of God’s own Son. It is also costly for the Christian, since it calls him to a life of discipleship under the cross. The love that comes from God accepts the sinner as he is, in his sins, but because it is also a holy love, it demands that the sinner change his ways."

As a pastor, I emphasize the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ. Although Scripture does indeed speak of God's hatred, it also speaks of His love for the world. My understanding is that we must distinguish between His redemptive love for His people (1 John 4:9-10) and His merciful forebearance--or love in a more general sense--toward those outside of Christ.

At the same time, we must not ignore or change the meaning of unsettling passages of Scripture (such as those that reference His wrath and hatred). We must not let sentimental theology trump biblical teaching.

To be sure, God’s wrath and mercy met at the cross, where Jesus atoned for sin; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Christ (Isa. 53:5). God is love, indeed! What a wonderful declaration.

And of this every Christian can be sure: absolutely nothing can ever separate the believer in Jesus Christ from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-9).

One of the terms often used to refer to the Bible’s uniqueness is “inspiration,” a word meaning to “breathe into” and used by many Bible translations in 2 Tim. 3:16. A more accurate translation, however, is found in the New International Version’s rendering of 2 Tim. 3:16, where we read, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness….”

The term “God-breathed” comes from the Greek word theopneustos (θεόπνευστος) and refers not so much to a breathing into as it does to a breathing out by God. In other words, 2 Tim. 3:16 tells us that Scripture is the product of God’s creative breath. The Bible scholar B.B. Warfield described it this way: “When Paul declares, then, that ‘every scripture,’ or ‘all scripture’ is the product of the Divine breath, ‘is God breathed,’ he asserts with as much energy as he could employ that Scripture is the product of a specifically Divine operation.” To paraphrase, the Author behind the Bible’s human authors is God Himself.

On the other hand, God obviously used individual people to write the Bible. The biblical writers were not mechanical robots; rather, their distinct personalities clearly come through in their writings. That is why the prophetic writings of Isaiah and Ezekiel are very different from the letters of Peter the fisherman and Dr. Luke the physician. But of this we can be sure: God superintended the process of giving us Holy Scripture. He is the Author behind the human authors.

Hundreds of times in the Old Testament alone we find phrases such as “The Lord spoke,” “Thus says the Lord,” and “The word of the Lord came.” Expressions such as these make it clear that in the Bible we encounter not simply humanity’s word about God, but God’s Word about humanity. Therefore, the Bible is authoritative because it has come from God.

In the Westminster Confession of Faith, we find an excellent statement on the authority of Holy Scripture: “The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God” (1.4). I once heard a theologian refer to that declaration as the finest statement on the authority of Scripture in all of Protestantism.

The Confession of Faith goes on to say, “…our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority [of the Bible] is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts” (1.5).

Notably, the confession does not refer to fulfilled prophecy, the unity of the Bible, “the heavenliness” of its contents, or anything else in referencing the ultimate authority of Scripture. While these things have their place, and can certainly be of use in the area of apologetics (i.e., the defense of the Christian faith), the ultimate authority of the Bible derives from its divine Author. The Bible is true and authoritative because it reflects the nature of its Author!

The Bible is the self-authenticating and authoritative Word of God. The Christian knows this because the indwelling Holy Spirit has confirmed it in his or her heart. And because the Bible is the Word of God, not merely the word of human beings, we need to believe it and obey it.

One of my personal and pastoral pet peeves (try saying that three times fast!) is hearing a preacher stand in the pulpit and, right before reading Scripture to the congregation, say, “Listen for the Word of God.” Such is a common practice among theologically liberal ministers. Rather than, “Listen to the Word of God,” they often say, “Listen for the Word of God.” The difference is subtle yet significant. Ministers who embrace the complete inspiration and authority of the Bible affirm that what Scripture says, God says. Ministers who believe thusly can wholeheartedly say, “Listen to God’s Word.”

Conversely, ministers who deny the God-breathed nature of Scripture believe that the Bible is primarily a human document that contains the Word of God. Therefore, as the Bible is read, it is the responsibility of the hearer to decide what is and what is not God’s Word. Consequently, those who doubt the Bible’s plenary inspiration and authority are prone to say, “Listen for the Word of God.”

To be sure, we are living in a time when the Bible’s authority is questioned and its teachings are ignored, doubted, and twisted, even by people within the church. This should not surprise us, for the Bible speaks of people who abandon the faith and follow false teachings (1 Tim. 4:1-3) as well as distort God’s Word to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16).

Scripture also says, “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

We do well to remember the God-breathed nature of the Bible, interacting with it reverently and responsibly. Let us bear in mind that what the Bible says, God says.

In the words of a wise old Puritan, “The two Testaments are the two lips by which God hath spoken to us.”

Few Christian books have impacted me as much as John Owen's sublime work, The Glory of Christ. The version with which I am most familiar is published by The Banner of Truth Trust, abridged by R.J.K. Law.

This little volume is packed full of profound truth. In fact, if I were to counsel someone to read only one book this year (beside the Word of God, of course) that book would surely be The Glory of Christ. Compared to much of the pabulum that poses and passes for Christian literature today, this work by the great Puritan is in a class by itself.

Here are some transforming truths from Owen's keen mind and sensitive spirit:

"One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ."

"No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world."

"The splendour of Christ's glory is too much for our physical eyes just as is the sun shining in all its strength. So while we are here on earth we can behold his glory only by faith."

"...men who are complete strangers to seeing the person and glory of Christ by faith have turned to images, pictures and music to help them in their worship."

"So it is only as we behold the glory of Christ by faith here in this world that our hearts will be drawn more and more to Christ and to the full enjoyment of the sight of his glory hereafter."

"A fish would not thank you for taking it ouf of the sea and putting it on dry land under the blazing sun! Neither would an unregenerate sinner welcome the thought of living for ever in the blazing glory of Christ."

"Those who cannot see his glory by faith do not know him."

"If we regularly beheld the glory of Chirst our Christian walk with God would become more sweet and pleasant...."

"What is the true blessedness of the saints in heaven? Is it not to behold and see the glory of God in Christ?"

Isaiah 66:2 is a remarkable passage. Therein God says: "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word."

What a profound truth--God looks for, and places a high value on, certain kinds of people. God is not looking for religiosity; He is looking for humble and repentant people who take His word very, very seriously.

How about you? How about me? Are we "esteemable" in the sight of the Lord?

Check out the following link for some misconceptions about the great reformer, Martin Luther:

http://aomin.org/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2007-06

A friend of mine who is a missionary to Mexico tells a story of a poor family for whom he and fellow mission workers built a house one summer. As the mission workers labored under the hot sun, the family—in this case, a woman and her four children—was powerfully touched by seeing God’s love in action.

On the final day, as the house neared completion, the woman told her oldest son to go get the crucifix hanging on a wall in their old home. She also told him to bring a pair of pliers. Then, in front of my missionary friend, she used the pliers to pull the corpus from the cross, as she said with much emotion in her voice, “¡Aquí no hay Cristo muerto!” (“Here there is no dead Christ!”)

The woman went on to testify how she had seen Christ in the lives of the mission team members who had built her house. She discovered that the Lord was more than a “dead Christ.” He was very much alive in the lives of His people, and she wanted to know the living Lord better.

Praise be to God for Christ’s atoning sacrifice for sinners and for His bodily resurrection from the dead. And praise be to God that the crucified and risen One is, for Christians, “Christ in [us], the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

This Fourth of July, let us look beyond the burgers and backyard fun to remember what the day is all about. Determine to thank God for our country and for the many blessings we enjoy as Americans.

Consider the colors of our flag: red, white and blue. Red stands for courage. I think of the courage of the men and women serving in our country's armed forces. Many of them are in harm's way at this moment. Let us pray for them and allow their courage to be an example to us.

The white of our flag stands for purity. In the midst of much cultural decay, let us pray for moral and spiritual purity to characterize our nation.

Blue stands for justice. Our Pledge of Allegiance concludes with the words, "With liberty and justice for all." May those be more than words. May they be ideals that we live out daily.

As we consider the colors of our flag, may we also look beyond the flag to the One who is the Sovereign of nations: the Lord God Almighty. By no means do I want to wrap the Lord in the American flag, but as I look at our flag's colors, the color red reminds me of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. White reminds me of the way He cleanses from sin. Blue reminds me of the Lord's faithfulness. God is faithful to His Word and promises. He will forgive all who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.